


Telemiscommunication

by ItFeelsSoWrite



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Other, Rebellion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-22 19:41:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4847960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItFeelsSoWrite/pseuds/ItFeelsSoWrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Homeworld shuts down the intercommunication between the rebel gems, Pearl is tasked with discovering an alternate means of interstellar communication. With the help of Lapis Lazuli, the wailing stones are implemented. Unfortunately, no object is immune to mistreatment. Lapis Lazuli fails to be the exception. (Mirror origin story. Working within the parameters of known canon).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Static

**Author's Note:**

  * For [narootos](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=narootos).



> This story is written in script (screenplay) format to best preserve the feel of the show's pacing. It's meant to compliment as a text-based storyboard. I believe the format is fairly self-explanatory, but a quick google search will explain any unfamiliar text! Say hello to my debut Steven Universe fanfiction!

Telemiscommunication  
A Steven Universe fan script

 

1\. EXT. EARTH WARP PAD - EARLY DUSK  
The year is approximately 3100 B.C. We find ourselves upon a beach, riddled with dirt and boulders. Looming high overhead is a rocky hillside, the base of which shows the beginnings of excavation. In the heart of the excavated rock lies a warp pad -- the same warp pad we know to belong to the future temple. We are on the shore of the temple's eventual location.  
Nearby, the CRYSTAL GEMS (ROSE QUARTZ, GARNET and PEARL) are camped alongside an otherworldly communications hub, seeming to run off its own power. GARNET is at its helm, a listening device not unlike ear phones pressed to her left ear. ROSE and PEARL watch GARNET anxiously with bated breath.

ROSE  
Are you receiving anything, Garnet?

A loud screech of offensive and unintelligible sound filters out of the listening piece so loudly that PEARL and ROSE can hear it clear as day. GARNET quickly pulls the listening piece from her ear.

GARNET  
Ugh! No! It's all coming in jumbled like before.

PEARL  
This is no coincidence. Someone is clearly interfering with our communications relay.

ROSE  
We're still in the dark . . . What if the others are in danger? What if we're too late? We need to know what's happening on the other fronts!

GARNET tosses the listening piece to the side.

GARNET  
We need another way. Pearl.

PEARL  
Yes?

GARNET  
Your holograms . . . could they leave orbit?

PEARL  
Why-- I-- I'm not sure I'm able to project that far . . . B-besides, even if it were possible, it's still only a one-sided solution. How would we receive word from the others? My holograms can't hold memories of their own. They'd be useless return messengers, assuming they could even find their way back.

ROSE  
Still, I think Garnet may be on to something. (ROSE turns to PEARL) We need to rally our earthbound allies to the beach. If you can be just shy of the solution, it's not out of the question that we're overlooking a hidden strength among us. I just hope she finds us soon . . .

With a touch of her gem, ROSE extracts a stream of translucent pink energy from within. It follows the trace of her hand as she snaps the trail of energy from her gem with a flourish of her hand. It glows and begins to form in front of them, the shape of an amorphous star quickly bleeding out into the silhouette of a doorway. The energy stabilizes and the door's corporeal form fleshes out completely. ROSE snatches up her sword and scabbard from the sands and makes for the door before PEARL's voice stops her. 

PEARL  
(alarmed and confused)  
Where are you going? What about--?

ROSE  
(turning to Pearl. Kindly)  
Your mind is brilliant, Pearl. I trust you'll find the gem we need to make this happen. Until then, I have to make sure the others are alright. I need you here, do you understand?

PEARL blushes despite herself, but the weight of her furrowed brow fails to relax. Still, she nods her understanding, wrapping an arm around her chest as if holding herself together.

ROSE extends her hand for GARNET to take.

ROSE  
Garnet?

GARNET  
(nods)  
Hm.

GARNET accepts ROSE's hand and follows her to the door.  
PEARL opens her mouth to protest a change of heart, but the door is already reacting to ROSE's proximity. It splits at seams that look of rose petals before opening into a pulsating vortex of light. ROSE and GARNET step through. It seals up behind them, leaving PEARL to look on at where the door used to exist. PEARL sighs, taking a moment to close her eyes and compose herself, before walking out onto the beach. Clear of the overhead obstruction of the looming hillside, PEARL looks up and projects Rose's symbol large and bright into the darkening sky.

 

2\. EXT. EARTH WARP PAD - A WHILE LATER  
Just shy of fifty gems are gathered on the beach, some interacting but most patiently and not-so-patiently waiting to know why they were called in the first place. PEARL overlooks the turn out from the slightly higher slant of the base of the hill. She seems to be counting the ranks, and satisfied with the attendance, begins to address the crowd.

PEARL  
Thank you for coming, all. Rose is regrettably absent, but I am in her stead to explain why. Homeworld has managed to disable our interstellar communications. We haven't been able to hear back from the others in days now and we fear . . . well, that's it, isn't it? We're not sure what to fear.

The crowd erupts in hushed chatter and concerned expressions.

PEARL  
(cont'd)  
We need a solution and quickly. Is there any one among you who could aid in the creation of a sustainable, two-way communications system impenetrable by Homeworld interference?

The crowd goes quiet.

PEARL  
(disheartened)  
Not a single idea? Please, give it thought. (nervous chuckle) Any step forward is a step towards victory.

GEM #1  
With what resources? Maybe if we could return to Homeworld we could fashion something, but the technology on this planet hasn't even begun to incorporate electricity yet. The humans are still hypnotized by fire!

PEARL raises her palms in an attempt to subdue the agreeing murmurs.

PEARL  
I know it seems daunting, but a solution has to exist.

GEM #2  
So why is it that Rose has left the planet?

PEARL  
W-What makes you say that?

GEM #2  
You! The two of you are so close, you might as well be fused. I can't recall a time where you weren't by her side. So why is it now when we're in a state of radio silence that she chooses to leave you in charge of her supposed beloved planet?

GEM #3  
Sounds like a captain jumping ship to me!

The crowd erupts into a fearful uproar. 

PEARL  
(strained)  
She's needed elsewhere!

GEM #1  
And so are we. Our loved ones and friends are out there fighting Rose Quartz' war and you can't even tell us if they're alive or dead!

GEMS begin to break away from the crowd, leaping into the sky and sea in their distraught and hasty departures.

PEARL  
No, please! We need to stay on earth. We're the only ones protecting it. That's what we're trying to find out!

PEARL's plea falls on deaf ears as more GEMS continue to leave. Tears begin to well in PEARL's eyes. She turns her back to hide her tears, the sight of ROSE's forces disbanding beneath her failed authority too shameful to continue watching.  
The crowd is mainly dispersed now, except for one. LAPIS LAZULI. She stands, watching PEARL's shoulders shake in frustrated sobs as she clutches at herself. With sympathy in her expression, LAPIS approaches.

LAPIS  
I might be able to help.

PEARL visibly jumps, surprised to find herself not alone. She swipes at her eyes with the backs of her hands and sniffles before turning to look upon the face of the unfamiliar voice.

PEARL  
You-- you want to help?

LAPIS  
(smiles)  
I think there's a way.


	2. Sonar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis unveils her private discovery to Pearl in hopes of finding a solution to the rebel force's communication conflicts. Like minds spark to make relevance out of relics, and Lapis reveals more than what she's perhaps ready to admit.

3\. EXT. EARTH, WHALE GRAVEYARD - A WHILE LATER  
The warp beam dissipates to reveal PEARL and LAPIS, a look of familiarity in LAPIS' eyes juxtaposing PEARL's gawking wonderment. From PEARL's perspective, we sweep over miles upon miles of sand, looking up from a craterous impact so deep that the edges of the rest of the world cannot be seen from the current viewing angle. The moonlight overhead illuminates massive, sun-bleached ribcages rising up from the sands like white monoliths - almost a dozen full skeletons, each paired with mostly-intact skulls of whale-like creatures.  
PEARL continues to gape as she and LAPIS step from the warp pad into the vacant sands.

PEARL  
I've never been -here- before . . .

LAPIS  
Neither have the humans.

PEARL  
What is this place?

LAPIS  
Isn't it obvious? A graveyard. These are the bones of space whales. I fear they beached themselves on Earth millennia ago. Poor things . . . Who knows how they ended up in the atmosphere. This is no place to die, so far from home . . .

PEARL stops in her tracks, looking at LAPIS with fresh eyes and full attention. LAPIS, who has continued a few steps ahead, realizes PEARL is no longer in stride with her. She stops and turns to look at PEARL inquisitively.

PEARL  
(quietly)  
Maybe home was no longer home for them . . .

LAPIS realizes which nerve she's struck in loyal-to-a-fault PEARL, raising her hands at her waist in a meant-no-harm manner, palms bared.

LAPIS  
Even still, they're buried here. 

PEARL tries not to read into the implication of LAPIS' pessimistic words and for the sake of progress, let's the protest on ROSE's behalf die in her throat. She releases the tension of her stance with a sigh.

PEARL  
So why bring me here?

LAPIS  
Their bones are not all that they left behind.

With the hint of a smile, LAPIS motions to the skull of the nearest space whale, its bottom jaw completely submerged in the sand, leaving the upper jaw looming high with seemingly no foundation. The shadow it casts is dark as pitch, giving the gaping mouth a cavernous ominousness.  
LAPIS can tell PEARL is curious once more. Confident PEARL will follow, LAPIS breaks into a sprint. PEARL hesitates for but a second before following after.

 

4\. INT. SPACE WHALE SKULL - MOMENTS LATER  
PEARL stares up at the roof of the whale's jaw as she steps further and further into the darkness. LAPIS seems unbothered by the increasingly slim visibility, navigating as if by memory. As the dark becomes fully engulfing, PEARL projects light from her gem. LAPIS looks back, pleasantly surprised, before assuring:

LAPIS  
It's not much farther.

PEARL  
(anxiously)  
What is?

A light up ahead comes into view as if on cue. As they approach, PEARL can tell that it is moonlight shining in from two evenly sized holes nearly one hundred feet apart and symmetrically spaced -- eye sockets. PEARL withdraws the light of her gem as they step out of the shadows, watching as LAPIS approaches twelve identical stones lined up beside one another.

PEARL  
Is this what you wanted to show me?

LAPIS nods, sprinting to the nearest stone before kneeling beside it. PEARL walks closer, but chooses to keep a distance from the stones themselves, still regarding them cautiously.

LAPIS motions for PEARL to come closer, beginning to touch and observe the odd-shaped stone, which we recognize to be wailing stones, careful not to press in the button at its top.

LAPIS  
These are ossicles, unique to the space whale. In addition to being vital to hearing, these particular ossicles were also paramount in long-distance communication.

PEARL, captivated, puts caution aside and approaches. Encouraged, LAPIS continues, blush tinting her cheeks as PEARL kneels near her in front of the stone for her own observation.

LAPIS  
Space whales tend to live alone once they reach maturity, you see. Their diets are so demanding that to live together for long periods of time means starvation. But no creature is meant to live alone . . . and so to stave off the loneliness of their inevitable isolation, they developed what was speculated for the longest time as telepathy, sending sonar images of the galaxies before them, documenting their journeys; Where they've been, where they were going. Advances in astrobiology have since narrowed this particular phenomenon down to this little bone.

PEARL traces the circumference of the hollowed circle in the stone with her fingertips

PEARL  
You know a lot about space whales.

LAPIS  
Astrobiology was my field back on Homeworld. I used to observe new life forms as they were discovered. That is, before the directive changed. Space whales were kind of my gateway into the sciences.

PEARL breaks from her observation of the stone to regard LAPIS a second time, her expression softening as she sees the gem behind the rebel soldier; the life LAPIS used to lead. LAPIS, all too aware of the attention, blushes again and wrings her hands behind her back nervously. PEARL returns her focus back to the stone.

PEARL  
That is certainly fortunate for us. So how do they work?

An impish grin spreads across LAPIS' lips.

LAPIS  
I'll show you! When I press this downward (LAPIS hovers her palm over the button atop the stone), speak into the cavity.

PEARL nods her understanding, positioning her mouth in front of the hollow. A thought crosses her mind, spilling from her mouth just as LAPIS presses down:

PEARL  
Wait, what should I sa---Auuugh!

PEARL is knocked from squatting to her her backside, covering her ears as all but the stone she spoke into begin to wail at an unnatural pitch. Curiously enough, the wails follow the same cadence as PEARL's speech pattern. LAPIS calmly and efficiently silences each stone in succession, tapping each of their buttons as she walks down the line.  
Standing, PEARL shakes the ringing from her ears and brushes herself free of sand.

LAPIS  
(slight laughter) It's my scientific opinion that the experience was far more enjoyable for the space whale. But you can see how it would work! These stones are not unlike our warp pad technology. Each is connected to the other by means of a shared but simultaneously separate fixed point in space and time (LAPIS points to the hollow of the stone), the gap of which separates them most likely bridging when a muscle indented this trigger (LAPIS points to the top of the stone). This is how they were able to communicate galaxies apart with no interference, because there was nothing between them in the first place!

PEARL  
(awestruck)  
These are extraordinary. I have no doubt the solution we need lies within these stones. If we could only figure out how to make them intelligible . . .

PEARL strokes her chin in thought, mouthing the numbers as she counts each stone with a point of her finger.

PEARL  
(cont'd. under her breath)  
Twelve total . . . we'd have to use them strategically, but I think it could be just enough. Now if only . . . hmm . . .

With PEARL deep in thought, LAPIS seizes the opportunity to admire her without fear of discovery, smiling as she can practically see the cogs turning in PEARL's head. PEARL's excited exclamation snaps LAPIS back to the present.

PEARL  
AHAH! Of course! What if it's the -atmosphere- that's incompatible? It's likely that the stone would have been suspended in a cranial fluid of some sort--

LAPIS  
\--making the interpretation of the sound waves in air-based atmospheres distorted when it's meant to be heard submerged!

PEARL and LAPIS share a look of giddiness in their 'eureka' moment.

PEARL  
(excitedly)  
We must test this as soon as possible!

PEARL kneels beside a stone, wrapping her arms around the base of it before hefting it up.

PEARL  
We can get these to the beach by daybreak if--

LAPIS  
No need.

LAPIS' gem glows before a pair of water wings unfurl. PEARL lets the stone drop from her grip, taking a step back as LAPIS conducts the wings from her back to form into two orbs of water before her. LAPIS slowly guides the water orbs to the stone PEARL unhanded and the one beside it, engulfing them completely.  
Kneeling in front of one of the water-encased stones, LAPIS looks to PEARL.

LAPIS  
Be ready to deactivate the other stones. On my count?

PEARL nods.

LAPIS  
One. Two.

LAPIS dips her head into the water orb, pressing down the stone's button and speaking a single garbled word into the cavity of the stone.  
PEARL quickly and artfully deactivates the air-exposed stones in a series of leaps, ending in a pirouette atop the last stone. In the absence of the short-lived wail, a quieter sound coming from the single untouched stone repeats itself in its watery bubble. PEARL walks to it and very carefully submerges only her ear, her face lighting up immediately as she repeats what she hears:

PEARL  
THREE! You said three! I heard three!

LAPIS  
Yes!

LAPIS deconstructs the water orbs to reconstruct her wings before another glow of her gem retracts them completely. PEARL deactivates the last, now air-exposed stone in passing on her way to LAPIS, capturing her in a tight hug.

PEARL  
Rose was right! She said I would find you and I did! She's going to be -so- happy!

LAPIS' bashful elation at PEARL's sudden affection deflates at the mention of ROSE, the arms she had risen to hug PEARL back with falling back to her sides before ever making contact. She recovers a fraction of her previous beaming smile to mirror back at PEARL as the hug dissolves.

LAPIS  
Let's get these back to the beach, shall we?

PEARL  
With pleasure!

5\. EXT. EARTH, WHALE GRAVEYARD - HOURS LATER  
From a distant and seemingly undefined point of view, we watch as PEARL and LAPIS step up onto the warp pad with the last two wailing stones in hand. The beam activates, turning them into silhouettes before transporting them out of sight. A moment later, a mysterious GEM phases into view from where she stood invisible only seconds ago. She stares on at the warp pad, one of her eyes absent and in its place her gemstone -- a transparent cut of Selenite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the plot thickens! Please bear with my pseudoscience technobabble. Bridging the gap between science and magic is a lot harder than I hope I made it look! At the very least, I hope it's all believable. Don't be afraid to tell me otherwise! Until next time, thanks for reading!


	3. Signal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awaiting Rose Quartz' return, Pearl retrofits the communications hub to be compatible with the wailing stones. As they work, Lapis' fears come to light. Pearl alleviates them, but bad news never stays down.

6\. EXT. BEACH WARP PAD, EARTH - EARLY DAWN  
LAPIS sits, legs folded beneath her upon the warp pad, idly forming shapes with the bubble of water floating before her as PEARL inspects a modified version of the communications hub. The hub is now hooked up to a holding tank, a wailing stone submerged in the water within. The remaining eleven stones sit beside the hub in a tidy row.  
As PEARL tinkers with the tubing between hub and tank, LAPIS becomes more elaborate in her water shifting, constructing a cliffside with crashing waves. The way LAPIS gazes at and continues to build upon the detail of the water replica suggests an overwhelming nostalgia. From the scenery, a scaled water replica of LAPIS springs up from the watery clifftop. The miniature begins to dance and twirl in controlled and fluid motions.  
LAPIS smiles, enchanted by her make-believe. PEARL talks to herself beneath her breath, too quiet to be intelligible but audible enough to work into LAPIS' subconscious. Miniature LAPIS spins into a particularly extravagant and fast-paced fouette. When she falls out of it, a miniature PEARL, freshly materialized, catches her and eases her back to her feet with the lean of her torso.

PEARL  
(facing the hub)  
I believe that's everything. Lapis--

LAPIS' eyes snap to PEARL, her waterworld collapsing in on itself like the tides of the ocean, shaping itself back into an orb.

PEARL (CONT'D)  
(turns)  
\--are you ready to give it a try?

LAPIS quickly gathers to her feet.

LAPIS  
(unnaturally high pitched)  
Of course!

LAPIS clears her throat as she makes her way to PEARL's side, water orb floating along in front of her. She engulfs the nearest wailing stone with a wave of her hand -- the only wailing stone without rocks weighing down its trigger.

PEARL gives LAPIS a thumbs up, which LAPIS returns with a mostly-confident smile. Turning back to the hub, PEARL hovers her hands in position.

PEARL  
Here goes-- 

PEARL leans into a microphone as she presses a single button, activating a downward press within the tank that suppresses the wailing stone's trigger. A red recording indicator lights up on the hub's dashboard. Meanwhile, LAPIS stems two streams of water from the orb, forming them into headphones that slip perfectly over her ears.

PEARL (CONT'D)  
\--nothing.

PEARL releases the button and straightens up, eyes glancing from the water tank to LAPIS expectantly.

PEARL (CONT'D)  
(hopeful)  
Well?

LAPIS smiles, the water headphones forming into a mic with wire still feeding into the engulfing orb. LAPIS wraps her palm around the watery handle and brings the mic to her lips, dipping her other hand into the orb to trigger the wailing stone.

LAPIS  
Hear for yourself.

A green indicator light brightens on the hub dashboard, a polite but urgent beeping indicating a message waiting. PEARL eagerly accepts the message with another press of a button, gasping into her palms as LAPIS' voice repeats from the hub's speakers.

PEARL  
(throwing her arms up victoriously)  
Input -and- output fully functional! Pearl, you've done it!

Remembering her company, PEARL curbs her pride and turns to LAPIS with a gracious smile.

PEARL (CONT'D)  
Oh Lapis, I can't begin to thank you enough! There's no way I could have done this without you. And to think, these stones have been under our noses this whole time.

A sobering thought occurs to PEARL.

PEARL (CONT'D)  
Lapis, you . . . you've known about these stones for some time now. I'd even be willing to go so far as to say you were the one that gathered them together. Twelve stones. I can't imagine a space whale needing more than one. You knew how they worked. Where they came from . . . Why didn't you say anything sooner?

Despite wide eyes, LAPIS looks as if she had been expecting PEARL's question. Reforming and retracting her wings, LAPIS' chest fills with a bracing breath before she exhales slowly, collecting her thoughts in the interim.

LAPIS  
I guess I . . . finally felt like I had something of my very own. Some place belonged to me, needed me to understand it. To learn what had happened there. I felt like I was -doing-something again, not just evading battles in a war I couldn't have -possibly- predicted the ramifications of. When I'm there, I can almost forget there is a war, or that I am stuck on this planet, because when I'm there I never feel stuck. I never feel lost. I never feel . . . invisible. Somehow, I belong.

PEARL's sympathy shifts into empathy, her sadness lightening just the slightest as the words stir up enamoured thoughts of ROSE. PEARL draws out of her personal thoughts and sobers herself as LAPIS continues to speak.

LAPIS (CONT'D)  
(subdued)  
Things are right in the desert. Things are quiet. No one's dying because . . . everything's already dead. (Frustrated anger) Euugh! I never wanted to fight! I thought there'd be another way!

LAPIS turns away from PEARL, hugging herself tightly to keep together as she shrinks from PEARL's gaze.

LAPIS (CONT'D)  
You must think I'm a coward. Or worse. A deserter.

PEARL shakes her head and steps forward with a reach of her hand before thinking better of it. She remains where she stands, drawing her hands to clutch loosely against her chest.

PEARL  
I think you're scared. And I think you're brave. I think that you do have something worth fighting for and you were doing it in the only way you knew how. 

LAPIS' huddle into herself loosens slightly, her head rising as she looks up from the ground. Her back remains to PEARL.

PEARL (CONT'D)  
And I think . . . I think it took remarkable selflessness to bring me there anyway. You saved us, Lapis. You helped me. Everyone else ran. You could have, too, but you stayed. I'm sorry to tell you, but you're terrible at deserting.

A laugh spills from LAPIS' lips, shifting into a singular sob as PEARL's absolution of her confession wreaks havoc to her complicating emotions. LAPIS clutches at herself once more, looking up at the sky.  
PEARL's brow furrows deep in immediate concern at the sound of tears in LAPIS' voice. Resolute in her approach, PEARL comes to LAPIS' side, choosing to look up at the sky along with LAPIS to afford her privacy in their proximity. Still, PEARL cannot help stealing a singular sidelong glance and is momentarily taken aback. LAPIS' sadness is an uncanny mirror of the depths of her own. It is this that brings PEARL to blanket LAPIS' shoulder with a comforting touch.  
The contact elicits another, softer sob from LAPIS, who bites her bottom lip in an effort to stifle any further vocalizations. Both continue to look up at the sky.

PEARL (CONT'D)  
There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of Homeworld. Sometimes I feel like we've already lost. I wonder when . . . or if I'll ever see it again. I wonder what I was thinking leaving in the first place, like I could make a difference. (scoffs) -Me-! A pearl. (swelling pride) But Rose told me I could be more. Rose believes we can all be more. It's our choices that define us, not our victories, she always tells me. Homeworld was taking that choice from us. And from countless others. Even if we had stayed, we wouldn't be home, because gems like us? (PEARL turns her head to look at LAPIS) We define ourselves. The place we're missing . . . it doesn't exist anymore. But it could. If we only keep choosing it.

LAPIS reaches to touch PEARL's hand upon her shoulder, the sadness in her eyes as she turns to meet PEARL's gaze augmented with reverence.

LAPIS  
You're wonderful.

PEARL is taken aback, blush spreading across her cheeks like wildfire. Hey eyes dart around as if she's looking for the words, any words, that keep scattering from her tongue.  
Before PEARL is forced to commit to a tangled string of thoughts she's managed to wrangle, the outline of ROSE's interdimensional door begins to trace itself in the thin air behind them. It fills itself out in a matter of seconds, seeing first ROSE, then GARNET stepping out of its opening doors. The dimensional warp seals behind GARNET and quickly reverses until it erases itself from existence once more.  
PEARL turns with excitement on her face at the familiar sound, beaming up at ROSE.  
LAPIS exhales a shuddering sigh, composing herself before turning to acknowledge the new arrivals as well. Her difficultly-mustered smile flickers, but no one seems to notice.

PEARL  
Rose! I was beginning to worry! When you didn't-- 

PEARL notices GARNET's clenched jaw and fists, as well as ROSE's pensive frown.

PEARL (CONT'D)  
Is everything okay? (urgently) You're not hurt, are you?

Absent smile, LAPIS puts no further effort into her facade, convinced it is entirely unnecessary. She steps back quietly until the heels of her feet hit the warp pad, barely hearing the exchange in front of her.

ROSE  
Our orbital bases, every single one of them, just gone!

GARNET storms to the beach, decimating boulders with angry swings of her fist, vocalizing her pain in grunts with each punch.

PEARL  
But how can that be! Could they have jumped to safety? Surely we haven't lost them all, there would've been signs! Debris! Was there debris?

Stepping up onto the warp pad, LAPIS keeps her eyes on PEARL to the very last second before the warp beam activates.  
The sound of the warp pad grabs PEARL from her increasingly hysteric interrogation, turning her head to notice LAPIS' absence. Her eyes remain unblinking on the pad . . .

PEARL  
Lapis . . .

. . . but the current crisis takes precedence. She looks back to ROSE, then to the newly-enhanced communications hub. Despondence grabs hold.

FADE TO BLACK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh! We're nearly to the end! The next chapter will be the last. I hope you've all enjoyed the story thus far! There's a lot of love and thought poured into it. I can only hope it translates. Until the finale! (You may need tissues).


	4. Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis retreats to the closest place she can call home, but Selenite awaits her arrival. For all of Lapis' efforts, Homeworld somehow reaps the rewards. Pearl follows to find her, but is it too late?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I said this next chapter would be the last, but I wasn't anticipating my ending being so long. I've decided to separate it into two chapters, one you get to read today (yay!) and the other that I am eager to get to by the end of this week. As always, I hope you enjoy!

7\. EXT. WHALE GRAVEYARD, EARTH - MOMENTS LATER

The second the warp beam falls, LAPIS runs from the pad, blindly following the path she knows from memory as she squeezes her eyes shut in an attempt to stem the tears welling in her eyes. She continues at a breakneck pace until fatigue finally coaxes her to slow to a walk. It is in this lull that the emotions she felt she could outrun catch up to her.

LAPIS  
What was I thinking?

LAPIS swipes at the tears she's ashamed to let fall, pushing on until the shadows of the looming space whale skull envelop her in the privacy she's grown accustomed to. 

 

8\. INT. SPACE WHALE SKULL - INSTANTLY

The tears stop, but LAPIS does not until she arrives at the sun-bathed spot that once was home to the wailing stones. Their indentions in the sand remain untouched. LAPIS falls to her knees before the empty spaces, hugging herself tightly.

LAPIS  
You're not Rose.

With her gaze downcast, LAPIS does not see as SELENITE phases into view. Even fully materialized, sunlight refracts through SELENITE's semiopaque skin. It is the dance of the light bending through her that catches LAPIS' eye. LAPIS looks up as SELENITE calmly approaches, scrambling to her feet as she recognizes that she **does not** recognize SELENITE as a rebel gem.

LAPIS  
(warily)  
Who are you?

SELENITE  
That's inconsequential. I'm afraid your treachery, however, is not.

As SELENITE closes the comfortable distance between them, LAPIS steps back to maintain it.

LAPIS  
Please, just-- leave me alone! I-I'm not a part of this. Not anymore.

SELENITE  
Oh, but you **are**. You have been **quite** instrumental to Homeworld's efforts. I would thank you if I thought for a second this wasn't all for some defective pearl, but I know better than that.

Confusion crashes into the fear behind LAPIS' eyes. SELENITE continues steadily forward. LAPIS continues to stumble backward.

LAPIS  
I don't know what you're--

SELENITE  
The wailing stones, Lazuli! Come now! The only worthwhile thing you've done on this wretched planet. I watched as you found the first, here in this very carcass. Listened as you unraveled its mysteries. When you went in search for the others, I knew they had worth. What I **didn't** know was how much! You think you've given the rebels hope, but you've only succeeded in signing their death warrants.

LAPIS stops dead in her tracks, eyes widening in horror. SELENITE grins, clearly enjoying the petrifying suspense she is inflicting. SELENITE stops a yard away from LAPIS, watching with glee as LAPIS struggles with asking the question she does not want to face the answer to. LAPIS cannot bring herself to inquire, but SELENITE is more than happy to reveal her cunningness despite.

SELENITE (CONT'D)  
You thought there were only twelve. You counted thirteen skeletons, but you never found the last stone. Did you think it was lost? Or were you comforted somehow by the idea that one of these creatures was as lonely as you, deficient and isolated.

Clarity strikes LAPIS, but there is no solace in it. Instead a sickening sensation takes hold. She sways with the implication, hands trembling, mouth agape. SELENITE's sinister smile only grows.

SELENITE (CONT'D)  
Jamming the rebel signals, that's old hat, but listening in on a line they believe is entirely secure? THAT's something I would have never imagined possible. And to think I almost reported this sector as negligible to the main objective. If only your unintentional service could be enough to exempt you from punishment, but this is war, Lazuli, and you chose the losing side. 

SELENITE's gaze darts behind LAPIS' shoulder for a fraction of a second, the smallest of nods given to the shadows.

SELENITE (CONT'D)  
I'll never let you forget that.

From the shadows at LAPIS' back, a pair of glinting golden eyes precede the emergence of JASPER. Her already imposing silhouette is more so for the crash helmet she has pre-deployed. 

The hairs at the nape of LAPIS' neck stand on end, her back straightening as she senses something wrong, but it is too little too late. JASPER winds back before headbutting LAPIS' gem with the entirety of her strength. A sharp crack echoes off the walls of bone, a tiny, breathless gasp eeks from LAPIS' lips and in the following breath, LAPIS retreats into her gem. As the gem falls to the sands, a massive, multi-veined vertical crack glows before going dim.  
JASPER leans down to scoop up the fractured gem, admiring her handiwork as she returns to her full height, helmet demorphing back into her gem.

CUT TO BLACK

 

9\. INT. SPACE WHALE SKULL - HOURS LATER  
PEARL peruses the interior of the skull, weaving in and out of the light spilling through the eye sockets up above, projecting light from her gem to inspect the shadows. From the tracks littering the sand, all sized to PEARL's gait and stature, it is apparent that PEARL has been tracing and retracing her steps. GARNET is with her, standing stationary with arms folded across her chest as she watches PEARL grow more and more upset.

PEARL  
She **had** to have come here! I don't understand . . . (calling out) Lapis! Lapis, please! No one is judging you! We just want you safe!

PEARL looks to GARNET sternly, noticing her lack of effort.

PEARL  
(hushed insistence)  
Garnet, tell her!

GARNET  
Pearl.

With an exasperated sigh, PEARL rolls her eyes and dismisses GARNET's pessimistic tone, returning to her solo search. As she crosses by GARNET, fists balled and footfall heavy to announce her vexation at GARNET's lack of participation on her way to search the east interior of the skull for the hundredth time, GARNET lays a firm hand on PEARL's shoulder, putting a halt to the futile effort.

GARNET  
She's not here. We can't waste time.

PEARL wrenches her shoulder out from under GARNET's palm, stepping out of her reach with her back turned.

PEARL  
You don't **KNOW** that. You've hardly looked! 

GARNET  
(firm)  
If she wanted to be found, we'd have found her.

PEARL shakes her head vigorously, fighting the notion, until finally the light projecting from her gem snuffs itself out as she reluctantly comes around to GARNET's logic.

PEARL  
I just . . .

PEARL shrinks into herself. GARNET comes to PEARL's side, making no move to restrain her this time. PEARL links her arms around GARNET's, hugging tightly as her eyes well with tears.

GARNET  
(tenderly)  
I know . . . Let's find the ones that want to be found.

PEARL nods, a few stray tears trickling down her cheeks as GARNET walks them toward the warp pad, accommodating PEARL's gait with smaller steps of her own.

FADE TO BLACK


	5. Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! No summary, just buckle in for the ride!

10\. INT. HOMEWORLD SPACE CRAFT - MEANWHILE

JASPER and SELENITE occupy a walled-in room, empty save for a dashboard and linked computer screen, projected on the entirety of one wall. A mirror we recognize as LAPIS' future prison sits at the edge of the dashboard while SELENITE types away on nondescript buttons. 

JASPER stands a ways behind her, expression bored, fingers clutched around LAPIS' fractured gem.

JASPER  
I don't understand why you can't log this report **after** we've dealt with the traitor. I've got better things to do than stand here, you know.

SELENITE  
(chuckles) Like what? Navigating the ship? Be patient, I'm almost done.

JASPER's eyes narrow, her teeth clenching together in a subdued snarl. Her footfall is heavy as she makes for the mirror, alerting SELENITE to snatch it from her reach before JASPER can grasp it. SELENITE turns to face JASPER, hiding the mirror behind her back. 

SELENITE  
(snapping) Wait, you brute! Do you even know what this artifact is?

JASPER  
(growls) Who CARES? Lazuli goes in it, that's what you said, so why are you wasting my time?

SELENITE  
(rolls her eyes) This mirror is more than just some mere construct of glass and metal. It's laced with a magic of ever-consciousness. The one with whom it is imbued will remember all of time played out before them, but at a price.

JASPER  
(impatient) Yeah? And what's that?

SELENITE  
In order to remember everything, the memory of the gem set into it is wiped from **all** existence. 

JASPER  
Meaning?

SELENITE  
Meaning we won't remember who we put into this mirror or why. That **is** , unless I finish this report in detail for reviewal in the aftermath.

JASPER backs out of her aggressive stance, unballing her fists at her side. Her eyes fall to the mirror as SELENITE cautiously places it back upon the dashboard, then to LAPIS' gem in her clutch before a wicked grin spreads across her lips.

JASPER  
Oh this is **much** better than crushing her into powder . . .

SELENITE disguises the release of her frightfully-held breath in the form of an exasperated sigh, finally comfortable enough to turn her back on JASPER once more. She continues typing up her report, quicker than before in an urgency to be done with the task.  


JASPER continues to wait as patiently as she can, foot taping for lack of something to do until a glowing warmth in her hand makes her cease. Her eyes fall on LAPIS' gem, trying to take form against the cage of JASPER's fingers.

JASPER  
You're a scrappy one, aren't you?

JASPER smiles, tightening her grip until the fracture in the stone begins to spread beneath the pressure. The gem abruptly goes dim and cold.

JASPER (CONT'D)  
Stay down.

SELENITE finalizes the report with a punctuated last press of a button, looking up to briefly review the content therein. Satisfied, she turns the mirror pane-side down, revealing an empty socket. She motions for JASPER to come to her side. JASPER steps up, eyes dancing with a menacing eagerness.

SELENITE  
Would you care to do the honors?

JASPER  
Would I!

With more delicate precision than SELENITE believed JASPER had, JASPER sets the stone in the socket carefully. JASPER retracts her hand as the outwardly-bent prongs magically curve in to form snugly against LAPIS' gem. SELENITE and JASPER stare with anticipation at the still mirror, an anticipation that slowly falters to disappointed confusion before a blinding white light and accompanying ear-splitting wail wash out the entirety of the world around them.

SMASH CUT TO:

 

11\. EXT. BEACH, EARTH - SECONDS LATER  
PEARL sits before the ocean, hugging her knees to her chest, just out of reach of the gently lapping waves washing up upon the shore. Silent tears stream from her eyes looking out at the quiet horizon. She sniffles and rubs at her cheek with the base of her palm before her eyes widen at the echo of LAPIS' wail in her ear. Before she can determine whether she had heard or imagined the bizarre sound, PEARL seems to forget she had ever heard it in the first place. Her limbo is short lived as the fringe of ROSE's dress in her peripherals brings her eyes up to behold ROSE's kind, smiling eyes.  


ROSE takes a seat beside PEARL in the sands, reaching over to brush the last stray tear descending down PEARL's cheek with the pad of her thumb.

ROSE  
My Pearl, why do you weep?

PEARL  
(blushing deeply) I-I . . . 

PEARL's adoring, sad visage falters in uncertainty.

PEARL (CONT'D)  
I feel . . . like I'm missing something.

ROSE brings her hands to rest in her lap and looks up at the sunset and the stars beginning to peak through the dimming sky.

ROSE  
(wistfully) I do, too . . .

PEARL regards ROSE a beat before leaning into her side, eyes to the ocean as ROSE's remain fixed to the sky.

FADE TO BLACK

12\. EXT. GALAXY WARP - APPROX. 5100 YEARS LATER  
GARNET and AMETHYST warp in from the Beach City warp, stepping off of the warp pad to proceed with their routine warp check . . .

AMETHYST  
I call left!

. . . splitting in opposite directions to cover ground more efficiently.  
A glint catches GARNET's eye, reflecting off her glasses. As she adjusts them, hoping for the light to play off of them once more, GARNET's eyes fall to the mirror, nearly buried amidst a pile of rubble beside a damaged pillar. Squatting beside the rubble, GARNET retrieves the mirror and brings it to her face for examination, looking first into the remarkably-unbroken glass before turning the mirror in her palm. The sight of LAPIS' fractured gem triggers a series of future visions, giving GARNET the appearance of frozen stoicism as her mind vacates the present.

FLASH TO WHITE:

 

13a. EXT. GALAXY WARP - FUTURE VISION  
AMETHYST approaches GARNET's turned back curiously, standing on tippy toes to peer over her shoulder at the mirror in GARNET's hand. She points to the gem, her mouth moving in words we cannot hear before she circumvents GARNET and grabs for the mirror. In the tug-of-war struggle that results, AMETHYST tugs LAPIS' gem from the mirror's back. LAPIS takes her form and flees for the nearest earth warp, disappearing before she can be stopped.

FLASH TO WHITE:

13b. EXT. BEACH CITY, TEMPLE BEACH  
The ocean has receded, leaving a desert in its wake.

CUT TO:

13c. INT. TEMPLE HOME  
STEVEN and the GEMS are crowded around the television, watching the news with horrified expressions on their faces. All of earth's oceans have been diverted into LAPIS' water tower. Stories of drought and suffering scroll in the text at the bottom of the news cast, images from all over the world depicting the same, bleak, waterless world.

FLASH TO WHITE:

13d. EXT. GALAXY WARP  
AMETHYST approaches GARNET just as GARNET stands, bubbling the mirror she has just found. AMETHYST soundlessly inquires about the mirror and GARNET's actions as they step up on the Beach City warp and warp home.

CUT TO:

13e. INT. BURNING ROOM, TEMPLE SANCTUM  
STEVEN, unattended, slides into the burning room along one of the crystal veins, thrown off a steep curve by his downward momentum. He grabs for the nearest thing to break his fall; a bubble containing LAPIS' mirror. It pops as they both crash to the ground. STEVEN picks up the mirror and inspects it. In spotting LAPIS' gem, STEVEN's instinct is to release her. The two begin to talk until STEVEN references the CRYSTAL GEMS, pantomiming their statures as he names each one. LAPIS, wide-eyed, becomes defensive and starts releasing the other gems from their bubbles to create a diversion just as the CRYSTAL GEMS appear. LAPIS escapes in the confusion.

FLASH TO WHITE:

13f. EXT. GALAXY WARP  
The Homeworld warp is repaired. It activates, its mighty beam brighter than any warp we've seen prior. In seconds, the warp fills with silhouettes, some recognizable as JASPER, YELLOW DIAMOND, PERIDOT, the others unnamed but dozens in number. The beam drops and the Homeworld forces step down from the warp. With sweeping points of her arm, YELLOW DIAMOND commands her forces to split, each group taking their own earth warp before disappearing, leaving YELLOW DIAMOND smiling sinisterly.

FLASH TO WHITE:

14\. EXT. GALAXY WARP - SECONDS LATER  
GARNET exhales a winded breath, standing as she hears AMETHYST approach. She turns to face AMETHYST, mindful to hold the mirror higher than AMETHYST's reach.

AMETHYST  
Whaddaya got there? 

AMETHYST reads GARNET's defensive posture and examines the mirror in her hands more closely. LAPIS' gem catches her eye.

AMETHYST  
Whoa, is that a gem? Garnet, we gotta let her out!

GARNET  
(firm) No.

AMETHYST  
What?

GARNET  
It's too dangerous.

AMETHYST  
(blows air through her lips) Well maybe, but if she's corrupted like the others, we just bop and bubble her, right? C'mon, we never have finds like this!

AMETHYST leaps and reaches into the air for the mirror, GARNET simply raising her arm higher to keep it out of reach. As AMETHYST grows more insistent, GARNET splays her hand across AMETHYST's face and quashes her down.

AMETHYST  
(mumbling between GARNET's fingers) HEY! GET YER HANDS OFFA ME!

GARNET  
Amethyst, I'm going to kiss you now.

AMETHYST is stunned by this statement and momentarily stops struggling. Tucking the mirror behind her back, GARNET squats before AMETHYST, steadies AMETHYST's head with a bracing palm at the base of her neck and pecks AMETHYST on the forehead. AMETHYST's eyes grow wide as all of the images GARNET experienced play out in her mind.  
GARNET stands back up and brings the mirror from behind her back. AMETHYST is still reeling from the visions.

AMETHYST  
(stunned) Dios mio . . . Garnet, what are we gonna do if we can't bubble her? She's too dangerous to ignore!

GARNET  
We give her to the most cautious person we know for safekeeping.

AMETHYST  
Pearl.

GARNET  
Mmmhm.

AMETHYST  
Well, I'm done checking the warps. All still down. (swallows) For now. We should probably get back, huh? Just staring at that thing is givin' me the heebiest of geebies.

GARNET  
She's still a gem, Amethyst. She's just lost.

AMETHYST looks momentarily ashamed of her word choice, dealing with the implication of LAPIS' imprisonment for a beat until the thought grows too uncomfortable to deal with.

AMETHYST  
Let's just go home . . .

GARNET  
Amethyst. We don't tell Pearl a word of this. It's better if she doesn't remember . . .

AMETHYST looks equal parts confused and apprehensive, answering with a haste that indicates she just wants this moment to be over.

AMETHYST  
Yeah, okay.

GARNET and AMETHYST walk silently to the Beach City warp, both lost in their thoughts as they are teleported from view.

 

CUT TO BLACK. END.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that, my friends, is my interpretation of Lapis' imprisonment. Is it canon? Probably not, but I hope I did everything in my power to make it at the very least plausible. Thank you all for reading. I'm not sure if or when I'll revisit the SU 'verse, but I've got a couple of ideas rattling around in my head, a lot building off of this very premise actually. Would that be something you guys would be interested in?
> 
> Either way, it's been a blast!

**Author's Note:**

> This is a multi-chapter script with no set completion time. I hope to have it completed within the next two weeks. Expect two to four additional installments :)


End file.
